Shears



Oct.'18, 1932. H. B. WoMcK SHEARS Filed June 2, 1930 ATTORNEY Patented Oct.. 18, 1932 TEN' FFI HENRY B. WOMACK, F BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA SHEARS I Application led .Tune 2, 1930i Serial No. 458,936.

This invention relates to shears and particularly to barber shears and has for its object the production of a simple and eiiicient shear blade which is formed of relatively thin spring material and is constructed substantially flat throughout its transverse area with the exception of a reinforcing rib along the back edge and the usual beveled or sharpened cutting edge.

5,3 Another object of this invention is the production of a pair of shears, particularly barber shears so constructed as to facilitate the sharpening of the cutting blades due to the comparatively thin and flat construction i; thereof and at the same time a further object is the production of a pair of shears, the blades of which will have a long life and will permit repeated sharpening to be made thereon without the necessity of having the blades ground as is usual in shears of a similar type.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pair of shears.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of one of the blades.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the other blade.

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5`5 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrow, this section shown in Figure 5 being exaggerated to bring out the construction thereof.

By referring to the drawing it will be seen that the pair of shears comprise a pair of similarly constructed pivotally secured blades l, which are pivotally secured together by means of a suitable screw 2. Suitable holding` loops or eyes 3 maybe provided as is usual with shears of this type.

The blades l are preferably formed of comparatively thin spring metal and each blade 5 is provided with a flat contacting face 4 and an outer face 5, the body of each blade being cut away as indicated at 6 upon its outer face from a point comparatively near the pivot pin 2 toward the outer points of the blades.

The outer face 5 of each blade is curved or spring blades, the cutting length of the blade dished at its inner end as clearly shown in Figure 2 and indicated by the numeral 7 to produce a gradual reduction in thickness 'of the blades from the pivot point toward the face 6 thereof. As shown clearly in Figure 1 the blade is cut away on its outer face from the cutting edge 8 toward its back edge and is preferably formed of uniform thickness approximately twenty-five one-thousandths of an inch from the cutting edge toward the back edge thereof with the exception that a relatively narrow reinforcing rib or bead 9 is integrally formed upon the outer face of the blade to constitute a reinforcing or stiifening means, thereby greatly bracing the blades. 65 This rib tapers towards the outer or pointed end of each blade as shown clearly in Figure l. The blades of the shears are, as stated above, preferably formed of spring metal and are so constructed as to have their points 10 overlap as clearly shown in Figure 2 in order that a proper cutting or shearing action may take place as the blades are closed together and this is possible due to the spring Vnature of the blades of the shears, and the uniform vtension produced.

As shown in Figure 5 each blade is of a comparatively thin body structure throughout its cutting length, that is to say at a point between the pivot point and the outer end or pointed end of each cutting blade. EachV blade may be beveled or sharpened in any suitable or desired manner along its cutting edge as indicated at v8, the showing in Figure 5 being exaggerated for the purpose 85 of illustration. It Vshould be understood that a barber or other user of similar shears by means of the present device can open the blades and easily sharp-en the same bymeans of a suitable sharpening file-used for this purpose and it will not be necessary as is the custom at this time to cut down the thickness of' the blades in order to accomplish this object. As shown in Figure 5 the blades illustrated therein can be sharpened do-wn to a point very close tothe rib 9.

From the foregoing description it will be further seen upon consi-deringthe drawings that by providing the comparatively thin being substantially uniform in thickness from the cutting edge back to the reinforcing rib and being comparatively thin will produce a very eflicient cutting blade for a pair of shears, the cutting edge of which may be conveniently sharpened from time to time, thereby eliminating the necessity of grinding the shears to cut down the thickness of the blades.

rlhe present invention therefore emphasizes the importance of the comparatively thin cutting blade which is reinforced along its back edge and is substantially uniform in thickness from its cutting edge back toward the reinforcing rib. This is a very important feature of this invention and the particular structure provides a great advantage in a pair of shears constructed in accordance with this invention, the rib 9 consti-I tuting means for facilitating the setting of the blades to insure proper shearing action without the necessity of employing an eX- pert to set the blades. The proper setting of the blades may be easily accomplished by a layman not necessarily an expert, by placing the flat face of the blade over the corner of a support or anvil and simply by tapping the face of the bead 9 with the tapering end of a hammer, th-e proper curve or bend will be obtained for the blade due to the fact that the metal when struck will be crowded toward the pointed end of the blade. The fact that the blade is unfo'rmly thin throughout its length and uniformly thin substantially throughout its transverse area with the exception of the comparatively narrow bead across its back, will permit this bending action due to the striking of the bead by an implement such as the tapering end of a hammer.

By means of the construction illustrated and described, it should be understood that a very light pair of shears is produced which will constitute a great saving in the material used. It should be further understood that the construction, as well as the lightness of the shears, will producev a comparatively silent pair of shears while the shears are being operated.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in the mechancal construction may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as these changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. As a new article of manufacture, a pair of shears especially constructed to facilitate the repeated sharpening and setting of the cutting blades thereof, comprising a pair of similarly constructed one-piece cuttingblades, each blade being of a comparatively thin structure throughout its entire length and of a comparatively thin structure and of substantially uniform thickness across its transverse area, a reinforcing rib of substantially twice the thickness of each blade formed along the back edge of each blade and extending the full length of the blade whereby the setting of the blade will be facilitated when the face of the bead or rib is struck with an instrument.` A.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a pair of shears comprising a pair of substantially similarly constructed drop-forged one-piece cutting blades, each blade having a raised and thickened reinforcing rib along the back edge thereof, each blade being comparatively thin and of uniform thickness from the cutting edge to the rib across its transverse area and throughout its length, said thickened rib and relatively thin blade facilitating the setting of the blade for proper shearing action.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature.

y HENRY B. WOMACK. 

